From Luxury to Debauchery | Belle de Jour

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EXCUSE ME WTF is a series that focuses on discussing and analyzing the strange, disturbing, and even surrealistic films I've seen and enjoyed.
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[@ZelcherProductions]

Links: www.patreon.com/zelcher twitter.com/zelcher20 letterboxd.com/zelcher20/ discord.gg/WzfVejAY8D This video got a claim that blocked it in other countries as well as on mobile. Claim was appealed and resolved but honestly it could happen again so watch this while it’s hot. (Also ring the bell). Apologies to my French audience for butchering pronunciations in this vid, you have permission to call me a doodoo head in the comments. Aside from pronunciation mistakes (and an unfortunate half second frame that I didn’t catch) I consider this vid to be some of my best work, hope you enjoy!! :)

[@jackiekelly4776]

@Zelcher Productions I just discovered your channel and I must say that I'm already a huge fan. However, I noticed two things in your video essay on "Belle De Jour", specifically when you mentioned that the title is a play on words of the French saying "Belle De Nuit". You pronounced "nuit" like "newt", the correct pronunciation is "nwee" and when you referenced Bunuel's directorial debut "Un Chien Andalou", you pronounced "chien" like "shoon", the correct pronunciation sounds like "shee-en"(the French word for "dog"). No disrespect intended and like I said, I already love your channel, especially since you discuss some of my favorite films.

[@ZelcherProductions]

@Jackie Kelly Yeah I noticed my pronunciation mistake for these videos a little too late in the editing process and when I was unable to re-record them. I thought I put a note on this video when I mispronounced the name but maybe I forgot. Anyway, I’ll be sure to double check my pronunciations from now. 👍

[@RMFeminine4TheWin]

*interestingly enough, the farewell scene between Anais & Sev reminds me of the final scene of 'The Hunger' when Susan's character (with short hair) takes the place of Miriam. just a notion in my noggin, lol.* 🎥

[@aliachali9092]

For me the ending meaning is that shes the type of person that fantasize about what she cant have now that her husband is paralized she just fantisize about having him back as she says in the scene that after the accident she didnt have the dreams anymore. And after the husband learned the truth about everything she did she knew that she lost him for real now and instead of facing that reality she chose the go in her fantasy world like she always does

[@beattella1]

I interpret the ending of the film as the release of the true emotions and true nature of both Pierre and Severine. Pierre considered Severine a goddess and an angel. She was cold, but also elegant, sophisticated, a lady and a little girl at the same time. That's why Pierre was respectful and gentle with her. This attitude was not entirely due to his nature, but rather to excessive respect for his idealized wife. Pierre's true instincts were also suppressed by convention and religion. This is especially visible in the scene when he looks with admiration at Husson, who was a declared sinner and a bon vivant. When Husson exposed Severine's true nature, he also freed Pierre from the obligation to show excessive respect to his "holy Catholic wife". They were both freed from playing the roles in marriage that religion and bourgeois society imposed on them. That's why they are both happy because they can finally be themselves and reveal their true nature. They can finally fulfill their fantasies, including sexual ones. They can finally be happy.

[@brandonthompson5796]

You are a wizard when it comes to dissecting movies and providing an entirely new and complicated context to films most of us have never heard of. You're awesome, I love seeing a new video from you on my feed

[@ZelcherProductions]

Thank you!! I sometimes worry that people think I’m looking to hard into things so I’m always glad to see people interested in my observations :)

[@brandonthompson5796]

@@ZelcherProductions honestly friendo you do the deep dives into subjects most of us don't even consider. You definitely deserve some sort of journalist badge or recognition. And I'll always be appreciative of your beautiful voice and fantastic research

[@antoninima9007]

I love this film. You can hear a bunch of cats meowing in the final scene as well as the bells on the carriage when she runs to the window. My take on the ending is either that all of the encounters throughout the film were her fantasies while she sits bored in her house, OR that she is just imagining that Pierre is not hurt and everything is normal flipping her fantasies from the beginning of the film on their head. I like both interpretations equally. 😂

[@beattella1]

I interpret the ending of the film as the release of the true emotions and true nature of both Pierre and Severine. Pierre considered Severine a goddess and an angel. She was cold, but also elegant, sophisticated, a lady and a little girl at the same time. That's why Pierre was respectful and gentle with her. This attitude was not entirely due to his nature, but rather to excessive respect for his idealized wife. Pierre's true instincts were also suppressed by convention and religion. This is especially visible in the scene when he looks with admiration at Husson, who was a declared sinner and a bon vivant. When Husson exposed Severine's true nature, he also freed Pierre from the obligation to show excessive respect to his "holy Catholic wife". They were both freed from playing the roles in marriage that religion and bourgeois society imposed on them. That's why they are both happy because they can finally be themselves and reveal their true nature. They can finally fulfill their fantasies, including sexual ones. They can finally be happy.

[@potatoman7594]

i think the cats are supposed to represent taboo sexuality and a longing to be with someone or something that you cannot, cats are often the most sexualized animal (catwomen etc.) and i think their mean spirited but almost sexual nature are supposed to represent sevarine’s desire. (i’m not a zoosexual i swear)

[@ZelcherProductions]

Don't worry I get what your saying. Surprisingly I never even realized cats were used as this symbol of sexuality and this is coming from a guy whose first childhood crush was the Black Cat from Spider-Man lol. Definitely an interesting choice to mention cats but not actually show them in the film at all.

[@Brianna-eo8nu]

One other way you could interpret the cat symbolism is how cats in the real world are often seen as cold and uncaring, but can actually be quite perceptive, tender and playful animals, as any long time cat owner can confirm. I think maybe this perception of cats as unemotional animals yet being anything but deep down might reflect Séverine’s character in the film, being seen as cold or rigid on the outside but hiding her unexpected desires deep down. In the context of her fantasies, the “let the cats out/in” lines could possibly represent Séverine’s perception of herself and her situation. She is aware of her true nature as a metaphorical cat, but is still conflicted and unable to fully accept who she is. In a similar vein to her conflict in the peep hole scene. She is unable to let the cats in (aka fully accept her sexual identity and deviant desires) despite indulging in and acting out her sexual fantasies in secret at the brothel and with her clients. Tbh tho I could be reading too deep into that.

[@potatoman7594]

@@Brianna-eo8nu wow, i love your words, and i totally agree.

[@pintsizedpicasso3402]

@@Brianna-eo8nu I guess you could say she didn't want to let the cat out of the bag!.... Judge all you want I regret nothing😂

[@cannibaldotcom]

now i haven't seen the film but it would make perfect sense to me that her commanding authority over the scene would signify that she is going deeper into the world of kinks. although it may seem counter intuitive, in reality those who are submissive have more literal control over what's happening then those who are dominant, because they are giving permission to be put down, and telling the dominant person how to do it. if she's beginning to set her standards and even boundaries, that's going deeper

[@EpicGamerWinXD69]

This is why two subs are incapable of making a relationship work. Maybe if Séverine was more of a top everything would have been fine.

[@ZelcherProductions]

If she just pegged Pierre their marriage would’ve been SAVED

[@ErinLOVESmakeupxoxo]

😂😂😂

[@appleseed8282]

25:00 For some reason around here I got a 42 minute ad where the first words was asking whether ginger or wet cat food is better for cats. I refused to deal with that ad but it just boggled me for its timing.

[@mandobrownie]

Here's maybe another way to look at the ending. The movie contains a lot of contraries, as you mention: church and gangster, high and low class, and most importantly reality and fantasy. But, an aspect of the contraries in the movie is that they coexist. Severine is both high class and (in a sense) low class, but they exist together despite being contrary. The ending is extremely contrary in that it involves Pierre both dying and living in a fully able state, but maybe because the contraries and contradictions in the movie have been existing together fairly well it's actually just true that Pierre both dies and lives to the full extent.

[@aledandrian]

“Many of his fans felt his movies would become more commercialized” Bruh show this to the average filmgoer and they’d have a heart attack

[@Brianna-eo8nu]

It really must speak volumes about how experimental and out there Luis Bunuel’s films are when a movie about a woman with a masochism kink that explores the world of sexual deviancy and extreme sexual fantasies is considered his most commercial works…

[@Xailadrell]

I've always loved the movie-making of Buñuel, but he's so hard to understand conceptually sometimes, and there's so much that can be visually missed. Thank you for such an in-depth, thoughtful, and understandable analysis.

[@maestro7058]

On one hand it almost would seem that a good ending would be impossible if we take that indeed the man has no more use of his legs. On the other hand I do like the fantasy ending better, naturally, but that one could only be in reality if the man was putting on an act, well basically he did not lose the use of his legs at all, maybe even the husband was actually in on the whole thing all along, guiding her out of the darkness somehow?

[@solow9k]

I literally just got out of a uni lecture on bunuel and this popped up lmao

[@ZelcherProductions]

I get similar comments on my Un Chien Andalou vid of people watching it after discussing it in a uni class. Glad to see Buñuel getting some traction out there.

[@solow9k]

@@ZelcherProductions that’s one of the movies we watched today lol, it’s pretty interesting

[@cathykinn4516]

Severine is to be pitied. Simple as that. She is only content when her husband is helpless & confined to a wheelchair. Why? Because she was sexually abused as a Child. But all most audiences see is the pervy stuff in the brothel. Brunel said he was only asked "What was that buzzing in the Japanese guys box?!" And mostly it was females who asked. Deneuve has complained since that she did not agree to a lot of the nudity. Used to think this movie, because that is all it is, was so sophisticated!

[@annarousiadou784]

Buñuels link with painting his film are live art. My favourite of his. Great film analysis. As a fellow film critic I must depict your detailed accurate notes. 👏🏻

[@Aztecravemonkey]

Great vid! Love how you interpreted the ending, very different from what I thought lmao

[@ZelcherProductions]

Those Buñuel endings are always tricky to figure out. Give it some time and I might come up with a whole different reading of it lol. It’s always good to have your own interpretation since it’s a unique experience to you.

[@ossian11]

Classic movie and excellent analysis. Maybe the ending where Belle is dressed in black shows her consciously accepting and taking charge of her kinky masochistic desires. The ending harks back directly to the beginning where she's dressed in red and is basically a victim of her fantasies or dreams and dragged along by them. Through the movie, she goes out in the world and experiences them for real. By the end, she has been thru the mill and been able to gain self-awareness. And she may be in a position then to actually take conscious control of that whole part of her personality.

[@dribbler456pls8]

After watching the film my interpretation of the ending is that she regresses into her dream world as a way of escaping the reality of her situation. One of the biggest themes of the movie was escapism, the brothel and her dream world acting as Severine’s escape from her high class expectations. During the Scene where her husband is in the chair she relates that she hasn’t been dreaming anymore which may be due to the fact that her fantasies of both being submissive and dominant can be played out now that her husband is in the state that he is as she must submit to taking care of him and she can dominate his entire action as he won’t fight back. When Hussein arrives to reveal her double life her husband innerly dies thus severing the connection between the two and in return ruins whatever arousal she gained from his state. The final scene in the movie is the carriage ride which is reminiscent of the opening scene reminding us that this is only a fantasy and a dream.

[@pintsizedpicasso3402]

My thoughts exactly! Another interesting detail that I think gives credibility to your interpretation is the scene where Pierre notices the wheelchair outside the hospital. Pierre says it seems sad to him, and Séverine says it doesn't...

[@christianjocson5509]

That’s my same take too; some say that the whole bit of her working for Anais, having an obsessed client, and having her husband paralyzed was a long dream, which I can see how.

[@israeltorrez492]

Nice view 👌

[@xdevildeadlyx7650]

You know what? Good for her

[@j.esteve1210]

Thank you for doing all the leg work for me. I first saw this film about 20 years ago and I remember getting the ending almost as a sort of epiphany. Now I watch it and I have to watch it again and again to catch all the codes, if you can call it that. It is a film composed of symbols. One thing I was surprised that you didn't mention: the use of sound. There is the sound of the cow bells vs the sound of the horse bells. For me the sound of the cow bells represents servitude, feminine servitude, when you consider that the sounds of the cats (cats symbolize female sexuality; the female sex organ is called a chat, the French word for cat.) is transposed over the sounds of the cows bells, in that fantasy sequence with the soup and the cows. And at the very end of the film there is the sound of the cow bells and then the change to the horse bells. This means, to me, that she has taken on the masculine attributes of the horses and the horsemen, who represent masculinity. Masculinity doesn't have to hide, unlike femininity, which is why the men are shown speaking freely about debauchery while the women have to hide. They are out, loud, in the beauty of the day. But it's not real, for I believe, in the last scene she has just killed herself and her husband. See it again and see you see what I mean.

[@Ifrit007]

More Buñuel, this will be a treat.

[@ZelcherProductions]

Forget Iceberg KZbinr, I’m going to be known as the BUÑUEL KZbinR 😤😤

[@Nublet864]

Really interesting to see a movie from way back when show a much healthier perspective and exploration of sexuality and kinky sex (aside from all the adultery lol) Like considering how within this century the 50 shades series was completly lambasted by the BDSM community for its unhealthy portrayal of those kinds of relationships, this movie made decades ago managed to slip in the importance of communication and even "subs are the real doms"

[@ZelcherProductions]

Damn I wasn't even aware of the "subs are the real doms" thing, that was just something I picked up on through the film. Them actually interviewing women helped age the film well, who would've thought!

[@modtomodern]

Exactly, well said.

[@pintsizedpicasso3402]

So glad you said this! The whole time I was watching the film I couldn't help making 50 Shades comparisons! I also couldn't help but wonder, how different would Séverine's life be if she and Pierre were able to take BDSM classes? Pierre is a very tender husband but he also seems like the type of man who would be willing to try out the classes for Séverine's sake (at least in a more sex-positive world). In addition, as mentioned in the video he did show admiration for Husson, so maybe he would enjoy being dominant. Who knows, he may also be suppressed like Séverine but just hides it better.

[@lopilkderlll]

This is a proper film analysis. Insightful without being overly speculative, and reasonable interpretations without insinuating a specific narrative. Just subscribed and I look forward to watching your other videos.

[@CarolineBearoline]

Glad I got to see this upload before it was potentially taken down

[@malenadraper8805]

I recently learned the costumes were designed by Yves Saint Laurent, a legend. One thing I noticed is that at a certain point in the movie, she starts wearing a vinyl coat, which could be related to her leaning into the s*x worker role she's playing. She has the means to buy a leather coat (more expensive and more elegant). Vinyl was cheaper and sometimes used by people in her current job.

[@atulyabharadwaj2279]

No boundaries between fiction and reality is better suited to kon I would say. Bunuel just spams "it was a dream not reality" while kon blends the two.

[@flamingflamingo4021]

Great video!! Do make more of such videos on Bunuel's other films.

[@frankieffbaby]

I wish I could dissect a film like this. I don’t think I would have picked up on the symbolism in the color of her outfits

[@YggdrasilAudio]

I think the "cats" are not referring to animals but the type of whip called "Cat o' nine tails".

[@robbyrhodes4572]

I love this channel.

[@beattella1]

This is one of my favorite movies. I interpret the ending of the film as the release of the true emotions and true nature of both Pierre and Severine. Pierre considered Severine a goddess and an angel. She was cold, but also elegant, sophisticated, a lady and a little girl at the same time. That's why Pierre was respectful and gentle with her. This attitude was not entirely due to his nature, but rather to excessive respect for his idealized wife. Pierre's true instincts were also suppressed by convention and religion. This is especially visible in the scene when he looks with admiration at Husson, who was a declared sinner and a bon vivant. When Husson exposed Severine's true nature, he also freed Pierre from the obligation to show excessive respect to his "holy Catholic wife". They were both freed from playing the roles in marriage that religion and bourgeois society imposed on them. That's why they are both happy because they can finally be themselves and reveal their true nature. They can finally fulfill their fantasies, including sexual ones. They can finally be happy.

[@Bodh_Shakti]

I reserved my interpretation of the same and untill then...

[@Fritz_Maisenbacher]

The greatest film about our sexuality. Says all about it.

[@lmnll2742]

*childhood sexual abuse

[@SplittingField]

Yes.

[@WhitneyDahlin]

More surrealist movies!

[@KateJunita]

❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@j1ggly-]

First comment ! Joon was here

[@ZelcherProductions]

Technically I was the first comment

[@j1ggly-]

@@ZelcherProductions we don't look at technicalities ✋

[@_narci149_4]

Let them win, Zelch

[@veritas6335]

The film is extremely creepy, but if you're going to talk about it, at least learn to pronounce the French words. The word nuit means night and is pronounced nwee. NOT "niyut." Modes means fashion and the s is silent, pronounced "mode." Buñuel is pronounced Boon-you-el. Not "Boon-well" and Deneuve is pronounced like it is written, Day-nuv. Not "Daynoo." And her wardrobe was all designed by Yves St. Laurent. What she's wearing is not just "clothes." And by the way, overall, your "analysis" would come off as more educated and informed without the vulgarity.

[@ZelcherProductions]

This is a mature film about sex with nudity and depictions of masochistic fetishes but i can’t say the F word. Cool 👍

[@Xylus.]

​@ZelcherProductions please keep butchering French words. It doesn't detract from your analysis, but it is amusing to think of people hate watching you, incredulous at your pronunciation.

[@ZelcherProductions]

I understand getting upset at me for mispronouncing people’s names and specific French words, but getting upset I said “clothes” instead of wardrobe is so pedantic. Like, you know what I mean, get a life lol. In the future I’m gonna have a friend, who is fluent in French and has a degree in translation studies, revise my pronunciations. However, even she told me that French is a very hard language to pronounce and even I did do it correctly people would still find something to complain about.

[@John-nb6ep]

33:00 Lol, another movie about women being victims then. How much sympathy does a man get doing such things?, about zero.

[@mairafavela4954]

I agree.

[@user-fm8vi1qs5g]

There you go again go over our heads without thought to your bad language,like thee pot calling the kettle black.

[@user-fm8vi1qs5g]

The narrator needs not to us vulgar language.